Altered Paradigm
by metallicgreen
Summary: "From the highest chamber of the tallest mountain, Red watches over Kanto and Johto, a self-appointed, silent guardian of billions. They seem to think that thriving in the unforgiving cold of Mt. Silver has dulled his heart, but they are wrong. She beams at him, a sweet smile of true intentions, and he wonders how he managed three years without human contact." Soulfulheartshipping


**Title: **_Altered Paradigm**  
**_

**Pairing**: Soulfulheartshipping (Kotone/LyraxRed)

**Summary:** From the highest chamber of the tallest mountain, Red watches over Kanto and Johto, a self-appointed, silent guardian of seem to think that thriving among the unforgiving cold of Mt. Silver has dulled his heart, but they are wrong. She beams at him now, a sweet smile of true intentions, and he wonders how he managed three years without any human contact.

Paradigm: noun:

A typical example or pattern of something; a model.A worldview underlying the theories and methodology of a particular scientific subject.

* * *

The snowflakes kiss his skin until it turns numb, but Red and his Pokemon no longer mind Mt. Silver's intense cold.

Red enjoys the beauty of silence.

Lapras coos a haunting song that echoes off of the walls of the small chamber that serves as the mountain's summit, faint whispers reaching Red's ears outside. Red kicks aimlessly at the snow accumulating at his feet, taking pleasure at watching it mix and mingle with the snow falling from the sky as it flows down to the world below.

One false step would kill him, sending him tumbling down with the snow before his Pokemon could reach him, but Red does not mind. Time and wind eroded the small ledge on which he stands into the mountain specifically for him, so he could be immersed in snow and lose himself in the white nothingness. He is not a part of this pristine universe, a dash of color on an otherwise uniformly white mountain, but the wind still carries away his whispers and strokes his cheeks as if to comfort him.

Lapras's song grows shrill, which Red recognizes as Lapras's way of warning him to come inside, lest he acquire frostbite. He sighs good-naturedly before turning his back on the dancing snowflakes. Fingers dyed white by cold fumble for the latch on the stone door he built almost three years ago. He yanks it open and hurries in, slamming the door on what he has come to think of as his private balcony.

Lapras looks up, pleased at the arrival of its master. Pikachu jumps up from its place on Snorlax's vast stomach to assume its perch on Red's shoulder.

Charizard emerges from its Pokeball with an assertive roar as Venusaur pops out in a flash of light and Blastoise awakens from its slumber. Red watches his Pokemon interact with each other until Venusaur's vines gently wrap around his waist with the care a mother gives her newborn child, pulling him into the mix. Blastoise playfully nips his arm, resulting in Red lazily rapping his knuckles against Blastoise's shell. Pikachu is everywhere, simultaneously bouncing on the disgruntled Snorlax and climbing up Charizard's back.

Here, nestled between Venusaur and Blastoise, warmed by Charizard's fire, calmed by Lapras's impromptu lullabies and Snorlax's steady snores, Red is at home. Pikachu, his ever present partner, settles in his lap, cementing the moment as perfect in Red's mind.

A memory of whispered conversations with past friends loosens itself from the deep recesses of his mind, but Red suppresses it. The memories bubble up with less frequency now, yet they have a greater potential to cause pain.

Red wonders if Blue and his other friends hate him now for what he has become, for what he has done to them. They seem to think that thriving among the unforgiving cold of Mt. Silver has dulled his heart, but they are wrong.

The first few weeks of living on Mt. Silver were the most draining. The cold weakened him, but even worse, inner turmoil zapped him of his resolve. He had pounded his fists against the wall, screaming, but never crying, until the familiar tug of Venusaur's vines restrained him. Lapras would sing to him to quiet him as Pikachu tugged worriedly at his jeans. It was only later, after Blastoise fetched medical tape for his bloodied knuckles, when he leaned against Snorlax for warm and stared blankly into a fire made by Charizard, that the tears slid from his closed eyes.

They froze before they touched the ground, but his Pokemon seemed to sense them all the same, huddling closer to their master. Together, they reflected.

In his path to become the Champion, Red had completely destroyed Team Rocket without a thought, eradicating the greatest threat to Pokemon in his spare time.

In a sense, he and his Pokemon have become the lone defenders of the free world.

Should the world require another hero against a new threat, Red is prepared to slip back into the part. The intense cold both preserves and challenges his team's strength. Red's unraveling ties to the outside means there is no loved one to hold him back, no friend to be kidnapped and exploited.

From the highest chamber of the tallest mountain, Red watches over Kanto and Johto, a self-appointed, silent guardian of billions.

Up high on Mt. Silver, Red is utterly untouchable, yet occasionally yearns for human touch.

Red has trained himself to no longer travel back to those first few dark weeks, where memories tormented him during the day and Blue visited him in his dreams to shout accusations at him.

When the world no longer needs him, Red will hunt down his former friends and explain why he inflicted this semi-permanent state of isolation onto himself, onto them. Prior to his abrupt departure, Red had explained his plan to the Elite Four and Professor Oak, instructing them to call upon him in times of need, so they could verify his story if necessary.

Until then, Red peers through the swirls of snow to catch a glimpse of the world he abandoned to protect.

That night, he falls asleep on the cold, hard ground of his chamber. Pikachu glances at its owner sprawled out on the uneven floor the with a frown, worried Red that will get a sore back.

The mouse Pokemon tiptoes over to the sleeping forms of its companions, a small yellow paw extending to poke Charizard's head. One snort later and Charizard is up on its feet, staring at Red as the tip of its tail draws circles in the air. The tail suddenly strikes Blastoise's shell, but the irritability on the turtle Pokemon face softens, then fades as its takes in Red.

Venusaur is unceremoniously woken when Charizard's tail meets its face. Venusaur's eyes flicker open with an outraged grunt, yet Blastoise gestures to Red and a sense of duty dulls Venusaur's annoyance.

The three fully evolved starter Pokemon move towards their owner with dedication, the fire Charizard religiously keeps aflame in the center of the room casting warm shadows on the scene.

As they have performed this ritual countless times, the three complete their parts without communication.

Venusaur's vines extend, crisscrossing over each other until they form a Red-sized safety net. Charizard gently cradles Red's upper body as Blastoise scoops up his legs; although either Pokemon could easily pick up their master, they prefer to do it together so as not to disturb his slumber. They load his body onto Venusaur's vines, which support him like a hammock.

Red's chest rises and falls as he relives his journey in his dreams.

Venusaur brings him to his makeshift bed as Blastoise fluffs his pillow. The grass Pokemon lays him down, careful to ensure his limbs do not spill off of the bed. Charizard hunts down one of the blankets Red skews about the place, and the three Pokemon spread the blanket over their master together.

Not to be forgotten, Pikachu jumps onto the bed and snuggles up against Red's chest.

The scene is silent as the Pokemon settle back down, drifting off to sleep. Only the fire moves, dancing to the soundtrack of snores provided by the inhabitants of the room.

Red's dreams are painted with snow, frosted images of his mom beckoning him with a smile, of Green turning away from him in disgust, of brown pigtails popping out of a puffy white hat trimmed with ice.

* * *

The doors to the Pokemon Center open, accompanied by shrieks of surprise as a Charizard swoops in, tail dragging on the floor and jaw locked open. Nurse Joy merely extends a hand in greeting as the Charizard lands on the counter directly in front of her, swinging tail ushering away the girl waiting for her Pokemon. Nurse Joy shoots her an apologetic smile, but Charizard is indifferent, cranking its neck downwards to allow Nurse Joy to reach the note dangling from its neck.

"I apologize, Kotone, please wait one moment!"

Charizard yawns impatiently as Nurse Joy struggles to decipher the handwriting.

_'Twenty Hyper Potions ,nine Revives, normal amount of food. Take from account as usual. –Red'_

As she has done on the first Friday and third Friday of every month for the past three years, Nurse Joy leads Charizard to a room in the back and gestures to a large crate it picks up with ease. She expertly harnesses a second large crate to its back, filling the crate with the rest of the requested supplies. The routine is interrupted when Nurse Joy blinks in surprise as the girl sheepishly wanders into the room.

"Kotone! You aren't allowed back here!"

The girl – Kotone, it seems – hesitates, absentmindedly twisting a lopsided pigtail around a finger. "I know…I'm sorry. It's just, is that Charizard his…?" She trails off, hopefulness and curiosity causing her voice to go up at the end of her sentence.

Nurse Joy frowns slightly, having grown fiercely protective of Red and his privacy over the years. "Is that why you're here?" Her voice calls forth spirits of apprehension, for she remembers turning away the fans who used to gather when Red's Charizard appeared for supplies, and even worse, the failings of the fans who attempted to venture up the mountain in search of their hero.

Kotone bits her lower lip, but the mere fact that she is the Champion and has almost found Red turns releases carbon dioxide into her bloodstream, and it rushes up against her veins and fizzles just below the surface of her skin, filling her, strengthening her authority and resolve.

* * *

Red strokes Charizard's head in gratitude before tearing into the box. Charizard wanders to the spring in a nearby section of the cave for much needed water, so Red is alone when he finds it.

He regards the note wedged in between Hyper Potions with suspicion. Nurse Joy used to include letters from Blue pleading for him to return, but they stopped coming after months of no response.

Gingerly, he unfolds the unusual interruption.

'_Red – Today I scale Mt. Silver to find you. – Kotone'_

Kotone? Red frowns at the unfamiliar name. He whispers the name out loud, but his Pokemon are outside sparing and miss it.

The note is crammed deep into his pocket.

* * *

Red passes the note around to his Pokemon that night, reading the words to them like a lullaby.

'_Today I scale Mt. Silver.'_

Charizard snorts and stretches its wings, a sign Red decodes to mean Charizard does not think the girl from the Pokemon center strong enough to make it to the summit.

Lapras voices its concern with a sweet humming. Red wonders if he is now responsible for this girl's survival.

* * *

The next time the note reappears, Red's legs are precariously sprawled over the mountain's ledge and he is angry.

'_...to find you.' _

Red is not some princess locked away in a castle that needs to be found and rescued. His own free will glues him to this mountain, where his strength guarantees his survival.

He holds the note over the ledge between two shaking hands, watching as snow pummels the words on the paper.

He considers releasing his grip to allow the note to fly down with the snow like an angel descending upon a frozen earth, but finds the note as glued to this place as he is.

* * *

As he curls up with Pikachu one night, he realizes the informality of the letter. No salutation, no last name, just Red and Kotone, as if they frequently exchanged letters.

He does not quite decide on what that means or how he feels about it.

Dreams of his past life do not plague him that night, but he drifts aimlessly through fields and fields of snow to find a white puffy hat at the end.

Consciousness creeps into him as a whispered name from a forgotten dream dies on his lips.

* * *

Charizard embarks on the bimonthly journey to the Pokemon center as Red's fingertips trace the creased edges of the letter.

Kotone should have been here a week ago.

Red considers instructing his team to search for her, but the vastness of Mt. Silver almost guarantees failure.

Red frowns.

* * *

Kotone smiles.

She waves from her perch on Mt. Silver as an orange dragon pushes its way through the snowstorm, marking the passage of two weeks.

Kotone is making excellent time; she should near the summit within another day or two.

Charizard fails to notice the tiny figure in the whispering snow.

* * *

The letter largely forgotten, Red's life blurs back to training, shivering, and waiting.

* * *

Kotone no longer feels the cold; internal happiness at her success and what is yet to come surges though her body, warming her every limb.

She steadies herself on her Typhlosion as it climbs the stiff mountainside, howling wind thrusting her head into the fire Pokemon's back.

Soon they are standing on a small ledge, and Kotone recalls her Typhlosion for fear it will fall off.

She squints into the white, eyes finally making out a crude door. Gripping the latch, she pulls with all her remaining strength.

* * *

The noises from outside startle Red at first, but he recovers quickly, recalling all of his Pokemon but Pikachu, who scurries onto his shoulder.

His fingers search for the well worn paper, the one he could not quite make himself throw away, and he stands to face the door, disbelief carving a slight smile into his face.

She makes her way inside, closing the door behind her with a thud. Kotone shakes the snow off with a shiver before cringing at her surroundings.

The summit room is small, unfit for a Champion and his team of Pokemon. A fire flames haphazardly in the center of the bare room, illuminating a lumpy old mattress and the crates from the Pokemon center.

Kotone grimaces at the blankets thrown childishly on the floor, Pokemon food pellets embellishing them like jewels, wondering how such a barren shelter could simultaneously seem so _messy_.

* * *

Her puffy white hat trimmed with ice recalls a vague sense of familiarity in Red, but he cannot place it.

Seeing another human after so long is strange; her eyes are closer together than Venusaur's eyes, the chin duller than Blastoise's chin.

Impossibly, impulsively, Red knows this is her, Kotone, here to fulfill her unwanted promise. From his pocket, the letter burns ten words into his hips.

'_Red – Today I scale Mt. Silver to find you. – Kotone'_

* * *

She notices him at last, seeing through the camouflage of his impossible stillness. The room is filled with the sound of her heavy breathing and the crackling of the fire.

As their eyes meet, Red offers her a small smile, Pikachu on his left shoulder and his right hand snaking into his jean pocket.

The way he stands, so straight, so motionless sends chills up Kotone's spine. She hesitates at the impossibility of this mythical creature standing right before her eyes.

The legendary Champion's presence awes her into silence, but some events transpire best without sound.

* * *

She has not yet said anything, and Red struggles to remember what he is supposed to do, his social skills being somewhat rusty after so long without human contact.

Her hand digs into the bag at her side, and Red truly grins at the sight of the Pokeball.

* * *

Kotone smiles back at his cracked lips.

He steps towards her, Kotone steps back in a sort of dance. He cocks an eyebrow, she realizes he intends to exit the door she is blocking, and hastily steps aside.

He chuckles, a pleasant sound in a world of howling wind.

On the ledge she and Typhlosion clambered onto, Red digs his hands into small crevices on the side of the door and pulls himself up with a small grunt of excursion.

Kotone's eyes widen in disbelief. Her Pokemon had had difficulty scaling the mountain; Red could not possibly expect her to do the same, could he?

* * *

Red looks down and is surprised to see she has not budged. He climbs back down a few feet and politely offers her a hand, but big brown eyes filled with fear peer out at him from under the white hat.

The hand falls to his side.

He wonders how someone unwilling to climb such a small distance could have ever scaled Mt. Silver.

* * *

Kotone considers sending her Crobat out, but remembers its difficulty in combating Mt. Silver's harsh winds.

Red's Charizard emerges in an explosion of light that reflects off of the snow and ice to blind Kotone. It veers at her before picking her up and shooting upwards.

She squeaks in surprise, but the winds gobble up the proof of her fear.

Charizard sets her down on the summit, then flies to the opposite side at the appearance of its master.

On this majestic, isolated stage, where the raging wind cheers them on and the snow reflects forgotten friends and ambivalent ambitions, Kotone turns to face Red, elusive Champion whose piercing gaze chills her more than the intense cold.

The world shrinks to these two trainers and the snow.

* * *

She shivers continuously, and Red regrets not offering her one of his jackets.

Her Pokemon team is strong, but not quite up to his level. Pikachu easily takes out her first two Pokemon before Red switches to Snorlax just for a change in pace.

He cannot always see her through the snow, but watching her guard her white puffy hat against the wind while shouting orders makes him grin.

* * *

She admires how he handles his Pokemon, only occasionally giving commands, participating in the battle mostly through observation.

Typhlosion finally knocks his Snorlax out, but Lapras's surf annihilates her Typhlosion and Espeon.

Kotone grits her teeth.

* * *

Red frowns, surprised at Snorlax, but she is down to her last Pokemon before Red can determine what went wrong. Pikachu switches in to deliver her Crobat a Volt Tackle.

She recalls her defeated Pokemon.

Stillness resumes.

Red cannot see her or her expression through the snow anymore.

Unwilling to abandon her to the elements, Red directs Charizard to bring her inside before descending down the mountain.

* * *

Even inside, Kotone's body shivers uncontrollably in disbelief at her loss.

Kotone draws out her Pokeballs and hugs them tight to her chest, sorry for failing her Pokemon.

The door opens, but Kotone cannot bring herself to look at the Red. She stares into the fire, replaying the battle in her head.

Pikachu curls up next to her left side, prodding her thigh with its nose until she runs her hand over its head.

A jacket is placed on her shoulders. She looks up, but Red disappears before she can locate him. Kotone returns to staring at the fire, chin balancing on her knees, when a chiseled cup is thrust her way. Red seats himself on her right side, and Pikachu dutifully bounds over to its master's lap.

Red sips tea from his own cup, staring into the fire as well. Kotone studies the way his lips balance on the rim of the cup just so, how the fire draws out the inner fire swirling in his eyes.

Kotone realizes with a start she never introduced herself.

"T-thank you for battling me. You deserved the win."

Red nods in acknowledgement, his eyes shifting to meet Kotone's eyes for the briefest instant. She thinks his mouth bows into a small smile behind the cup. Encouraged, Kotone relaxes her posture, tucking her legs under her.

She begins to grow accustomed to his habits and mannerisms.

* * *

He knows she is studying him now, but staring at the controlled fire posses less risk. He has no idea what social protocol demands of him in this particular situation, but restrain is irrelevant on Mt. Silver.

"I'm Kotone!" She beams at him now, a sweet smile of true intentions, and he wonders how he managed two years without any human contact.

"I know. I got your letter." Disuse has left his voice too gruff for his liking.

"Letter…?" She asks, and he wonders when it stopped being a note and became a letter.

* * *

Kotone's surprise overrides her smile when he pulls the folded post-it note out of his pocket and hands it to her. She had scribbled the message and thrown it into Charizard's crate on a whim, never expecting the legendary Red to hold onto it. He misses the questioning look she gives him.

"Two weeks and two days. You took a long time." The way his voice scratches her ears enchants her, and she turns to face him completely to drink him in.

"Hey, I was perfectly happy with my progress! How long does it take you?" Nevertheless, Kotone is somehow pleased with the idea of Red timing her in anticipation of her arrival.

Red shrugs, still staring at the fire as Kotone stares at him. "About a week my first time."

She nods. "Impressive." He nods. The silence stretches, but comfort sets in.

* * *

Her very presence smashes the pattern, skews the standards of three years.

In some ways, it changes nothing. Red remains the strongest Trainer, remains set in his ways, and remains on Mt. Silver.

A new custom emerges; Red scours the crates Charizard brings on the the first and third Friday of every month in search of a scrap of paper signed Kotone.

* * *

"One week, five days. A new record. Congratulations, Miss Champion." Red teases almost a year later when Kotone bursts into the room.

Kotone smiles, having discovered that Red is an agreeable person, only darkening when she brings up Green's continuous requests for Red to return home.

"I think training here has really helped."

Red folds his arms at this new information.

"Aw, jealous I come up here and don't always visit you?" Kotone teases back.

Red laughs, and Kotone joins in, pleased to be the source.

* * *

Red sees vast improvement each time they battle; her Pokemon seem more surefooted in the bizarre conditions, and Kotone herself becomes less flustered. He wins the fourth battle by just two Pokemon.

Frustrated, She tugs at her jacket. Red recognizes the jacket as being the one he lent her and wonders when it became hers.

* * *

Kotone does not know how to make him hers. She whispers her wish to every falling star, but Red remains as impossible to contain as the expansive snow on his mountain.

When she tells him of her victory over Team Rocket, Red is dumbstruck. He exists specifically to deal with such situations; why did Professor Oak or the Elite Four never call upon him?

He wonders if he has isolated himself _too much_.

Searching for answers, Red begins to send letters down with Charizard, slowly edging himself back into the land of the living.

* * *

'_Dear Red,_

_I was so happy to finally hear from you! I've missed you so much, honey! I hope it isn't too cold up there. I'll knit some sweaters for you and send them next time. The garden is looking great, I wish you could be here to see it. Tell me more about your daily life! How do you and your Pokemon train? Has Pikachu gotten stronger? Do you get enough to eat? I hope you're taking care of yourself. If you need anything at all, write to me! And please come visit, I really miss you and would love to see you again._

_Love, _

_Mom'_

* * *

Kotone senses Red growing listless, but says nothing.

She knows he cannot be persuaded and must come to the conclusion by himself.

* * *

'_Dear Red,_

_I received your letter and would like to thank you for it. I hope this letter finds you in good health and I wish you the best of luck in training._

_You asked why we did not contact you immediately upon the reformation of Team Rocket. At the time, I did indeed recall your request to be informed. I had, in fact, penned a letter to you explaining the urgency of the situation. However, other members of the Elite Four felt that involving you in the situation was not the right choice, as your isolation makes you an undependable ally. Nevertheless, we eventually agreed that you were to be informed if the situation elevated to a certain degree. Fortunately, the valiant efforts of a Miss Kotone and myself were enough to neutralize the threat._

_On a personal note, I hope you complete your training and swiftly return home. _

_Warm regards,_

_Lance'_

* * *

The letters keep coming, and Red keeps answering.

The white puffy hat visits him in his dreams almost nightly now, but he always wakes up just before Kotone sprouts from underneath it.

* * *

'_Red, you dumbass. You write to Lance before you write to me? Come down and battle me. –Green_

* * *

Kotone smiles as Red complains of boredom.

"You know the solution."

Red pauses. He eyes the Pokemon who have kept him company for so long. Lapras coos to Charizard's grunts, and impossibly, Red seems to understand. He silently heads outside to the ledge he crowned a balcony as Kotone wonders if she said too much.

She grabs a jacket and races outside, where Red sits, eyes tracing the patterns in the falling snow. Kotone places the jacket on his shoulders, a cape for a regal king looking out on his kingdom.

"I'm sorry, Red. I didn't mean –"

"It's fine." Turmoil tints his words black, and Kotone suddenly sees the inner conflict. He buries his head into his arms, fingers twisting his jacket closer around him.

The wind picks up, and Kotone is not quite sure whether his next words are real or imaginary. "You're right."

Kotone leans down to gently press her lips against his cheek.

Before he can react, she is gone, and he is left alone with the burning cold of the winter wonderland.

* * *

With minimal difficulty, Red heaves the lumpy old mattress over the side of the ledge, careful not to knock Pikachu from his shoulder. Charizard lazily flies circles in the air above.

"Flamethrower."

The fire type blasts a powerful beam of fire.

Red leans over the edge to watch as the flaming mattress soars down until he cannot see it anymore. He turns to see the remainder of his Pokemon team peering through the open door, beaming at him with pride.

He smiles shyly, then recalls them and takes in the view for the second to last time in his life.

* * *

Kotone taps her foot nervously. It is 11 pm on the third Friday of the month, but Charizard has yet to make an appearance.

Nurse Joy continuously glances at the clock, sharing Kotone's worry.

Charizard is a strong Pokemon who has made the journey countless times without tardiness…What could possibly be holding it up?

Kotone wonders how to best locate Charizard.

Friday slowly bubbles over into Saturday, and Kotone is on her feet, panicky, ready to scour the skies in search of the orange dragon that serves as Red' lifeline.

Nurse Joy nods in approval before rushing to the back room to fetch potions for Kotone.

As Kotone waits, a light bell signals the opening of the door. Her head snaps back, hoping beyond hope to see a familiar disgruntled fire Pokemon, but a lone figure bundled up in winter clothes enters instead.

He is familiar, but out of place.

He lumbers towards Kotone, red eyes smiling.

After four and a half years, King Red has finally abandoned his castle.

Uncharacteristically timid, a shy hand shakingly cups Kotone's cheek, a whispered _Hey_ passes through his lips.

She pushes his hand aside and buries herself into his chest.

* * *

She forced her way into his life, breaking the boundaries he set for himself and cracking the conclusions he once clung to.

He loves her for it.

As she makes her way towards him in their shared house, eyes bright, juicy lips reciting the phone message Green left for him, Red knows he made the right choice.

They battle, sometimes he wins, sometimes she wins, they both win in the sense that they found each other.

* * *

_Epilogue. Fifty years later…_

An elderly Charizard drags through the sky, landing on the familiar old ledge near the summit of Mt. Silver. Its trainer hops off with the remaining grace of a man easily in his sixties or seventies.

He recalls the Charizard and takes in the surroundings. The stone door he remembers fondly, tracing the latch with weathered hands.

Longingly, Red thinks of her hands struggling to pull the heavy door and prevent her hat from flying off her head.

The former Champion shakes as he releases a Sandshrew. As the snow coats his face and melts tears into his eyes, the Sandshrew digs a hole.

Red's knobbed hands reach into his bag and pull out a small, sealed capsule filled with ashes.

He solemnly places the capsule into the hole, but cannot tear himself away yet.

His fingers flutter over the single engraved word – _Kotone._

"We scaled the mountain in just six days…that's your best record yet." Red whispers.

Through the sorrow and blinding tears, Red smiles, because even now she is beautiful.

As Sandshrew fills in the hole, Red sees her among the snowflakes, smiling back, beckoning, waiting for him.

He knows someday he will be buried here next to his wife, and they will peer peacefully into the mystifying snowstorms and watch over Kanto and Johto together.

Replacing Sandshrew with Charizard, Red flies off, acutely aware that Kotone would not have wanted him to dwindle away his remaining years on the mountain.

Now it is her turn to wait on Mt. Silver for him.

* * *

**AN:**

**1.** In reference to Red's dream…

"The openness of a _field_ may express your desire to be free. A field is also a fertile place and may therefore symbolise personal growth…Alternatively, the dream may simply represent you love of and desire to be with Nature." – d/r/e/a/m/s/l/e/e/p/dot/n/e/t

"To see snow in your dream signifies your inhibitions, unexpressed emotions and feelings of frigidity…Alternatively, snow means that you are feeling indifferent, alone and neglected. …To dream that you find something in the snow suggests that you are exploring and accessing your unused potential, abilities, and talents. You have uncovered some hidden talent and ability within yourself. It may also refers _[sic]_ to a need to forgive." – d/r/e/a/m/m/o/o/d/s/dot/c/o/m

I don't vouch for the accurateness of those websites, but they add a fun layer to the story.

**2.** I particularly liked the idea of Red's world having various set patterns – the snow, whiteness, his Pokemon taking care of him, Charizard flying down on the first/third Friday of every month, Nurse Joy giving him supplies, etc – and them being destroyed – Kotone's arrival, arriving on a Saturday instead of a Friday, new dreams, the note, writing letters, etc. This story was supposed to be just Red reflecting, but Kotone snuck in there and morphed the fic.

I originally planned an outright happy ending, but then I thought of this ending and liked it. I wanted a non-angsty Red, and I got it. ^^

Please let me know what you thought of this!


End file.
